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U.P. Home Health & Hospice holding giveaway

Toys for Tots

Kori Tossava

MARQUETTE — If you don’t already have the urge to donate to one of the many charitable organizations helping families in need this holiday season, U.P. Home Health & Hospice and U.P. Private Duty Services is adding an incentive to do so.

Through the Marine Toys for Tots program, now in its 73rd year, UPHHH is offering up a chance to win a 55-inch 4K Smart TV to those who donate toys to its Marquette or Ishpeming locations.

Kori Tossava, director of community services for UPHHH, said the organization has been working with the Toys for Tots program for as long as she can remember, and it has given away other items such as iPads or an Apple Watch in previous years.

“This incentive has been just a small way we can work, as an organization, to help our friends and neighbors who need it during the holiday season,” she said. “By offering this incentive, we know that while people give out of the goodness of their heart, they also have a chance to receive something in return. We have always been inspired by our community’s ability to pull together to help each other, and we know it’s needed this year more than ever.”

The Marine Toys for Tots program was founded in Los Angeles by United States Marine Corps Reserve Maj. Bill Hendricks in 1947. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the program was inspired by Hendricks’ wife, who was looking to donate a toy to a child in need, but had no organization to donate through.

Hendricks gathered several local Marines and with the help of Lt. Col. John Hampton, the program collected roughly 5,000 toys for children in the Los Angeles area that year through collection boxes spread around the city.

The program expanded to a national campaign the following year, and the Toys for Tots program has collected over 584 million toys and has supported over 265 million children to date, according to its website.

Only new toys are accepted, and those wishing to donate through UPHHH may drop off items Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at its Marquette office, located at 1125 W. Ridge St., or its Ishpeming office, located at 510 Mather Ave.

UPHHH asks that those who donate to either office walk up to the door and call the posted telephone number.

An employee will proceed to greet you, collect your items and provide drawing slips for you to fill out.

To be eligible for the television drawing, toys must be valued at $5 or more. You can enter the drawing as many times as you’d like. Employees, volunteers and immediate family members or UPHHH and U.P. Private Duty Services are not eligible to enter.

Deadline for donations is Dec. 11.

For more information on U.P. Home Health & Hospice and U.P. Private Duty Services, visit www.uphomehealth.org or call its Marquette office at 906-225-4545 or its Ishpeming office at 906-485-4545.

For more information on Marine Toys for Tots and ways you can donate or to seek assistance through the program, visit www.toysfortots.org.

Ryan Spitza can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248. His email address is rspitza@miningjournal.net.

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